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Fitness trackers have evolved a lot over the years both in terms of the form factor and functionality. Modern-day fitness trackers are no longer limited to just tracking your daily steps and sleep duration. They've now become reliable tools for helping you get more active on a day-to-day basis, helping you get quality sleep, and even tracking vital metrics like heart rate, oxygen levels, and more. As long as you're ready to find the right product, these fitness trackers can help you achieve all your fitness goals with ease.
There's no shortage of fitness trackers on the market, meaning you'll have to skim through dozens of these products to find the one that aligns with your fitness goals. We've managed to put together a healthy list (no pun intended) of fitness trackers for you to check out. From simple trackers for day-to-day usage to more sophisticated options that double up as a smartwatch, there's something for everyone on this list.
Dedicated Fitness Trackers
Dedicated fitness trackers a.k.a fitness bands primarily focus on fueling your fitness journey. These trackers are relatively small compared to a full-fledged smartwatch or the ones that also double as a smartwatch. You can find those products in the following sections, but let's jump into the list of the dedicated fitness trackers that'll help you achieve your fitness goals:
Best fitness tracker overall: Fitbit Charge 5
Fitbit's Charge lineup has been around for a while now, and they continue to dominate the US market by offering a good set of features. It's also one of the most affordable fitness trackers from Fitbit, and it comes with pretty much everything you expect from a basic fitness tracker. The Fitbit Charge 5, as you can see, has a simple yet elegant design. It's available in a bunch of different colorways, and we think it has the perfect size for most users. The housing of the tracker is made out of aluminum, glass, and resin, whereas the included band is made out of silicone.
It sports a bright 1.04-inch (diagonal) touchscreen OLED display on the front that lets you interact with all the features the tracker offers. Inside the Charge 5, you get more than a few sensors and components. It packs an optical heart rate monitor, red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, a device temperature sensor to measure the skin temperature, multipurpose electrical sensors compatible with the ECG app & EDA Scan app, a 3-axis accelerometer, and more. Notably, you also get built-in GPS, GLONASS, and NFC support.
The Fitbit Charge 5 also supports smart features like contactless payments, notifications, and more. The tracker also has built-in memory to store up to seven days of detailed motion data, minute by minute. Additionally, it can also store daily totals for up to 30 days. The Charge 5 is also water-resistant up to 50 meters, which is great. In the battery department, Fitbit says the Charge 5 can work for up to 7 days on a single charge. Your mileage may vary based on your usage, and we expect the battery life to dip further with features like Always-On display and SpO2 monitoring turned on.
One of the best things about the Fitbit Charge 5 is that it's compatible with both Android phones and iPhones. You'll need an iPhone running iOS 14 or higher or an Android phone with Android 10.0 or higher to use the companion app. You can take a look at all the compatible devices by heading over to Fitbit's official website.
All things considered, the Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features. It may not be the most affordable fitness tracker in this collection, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price. Fitbit has an exhaustive list of wearables on offer but we think the Charge 5 stands out as a reliable tracker. It doesn't skimp on the essentials to keep the price low, which in itself is a huge selling point. We recommend taking a look at the Fitbit Versa 3 if you want a fitness tracker that doubles as a smartwatch. If you don't mind settling for something that's a little less premium, then Xiaomi's Mi Smart Band 7 is also a great option to consider.
Fitbit Charge 5
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features for the price.
Best budget fitness tracker: Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7
The Mi Smart Band 7 is the latest entrant in Xiaomi's reliable line of fitness trackers. Mi Bands, for those that don't know, are affordable fitness trackers that get the job done without breaking the bank. The Mi Band 7 being the latest entry into the lineup offers some noteworthy improvements over the predecessor. It made a debut in China by the name of Mi Band 7, but Xiaomi is referring to it as Mi Smart Band 7 in the international markets. It's available to purchase in the US via Amazon for around $69. There's a lot to like about the Mi Smart Band 7, especially at this price. It lacks some high-end features, but it makes up for it with other features while keeping the price low.
In terms of the design, we're looking at a tiny oval-shaped device that's detachable from its band. The tracker itself measures just 12.2mm in thickness and weighs 13g. This should give you an idea of how lightweight and comfortable it would be to wear it on a day-to-day basis. One of the best things about the Mi Band 7 is that it's very easy to buy replacement bands for the tracker. Xiaomi itself sells a lot of them, and you're bound to find a lot more from third-party vendors. The tracker lacks physical buttons, meaning you'll have to interact with swipes and taps on the touchscreen. It sports a 1.62-inch AMOLED display on the front with 500 nits of brightness. The UI itself is fairly easy to navigate and find whatever you need.
As for activity tracking, the Mi Band 7 supports all the essentials including steps, workouts, sleep tracking, and more. It can also keep a track of your blood oxygen levels and heart rate. The highlight of the Mi Band 7 is that it can also track menstruation cycles, and breathing, which is great. The only real drawback is that the Mi Band 7 doesn't automatically detect workouts, meaning you'll have to manually log the exercise. However, the Mi Band 7 comes with a lot of workout modes including cycling, yoga, fishing, and even parkour. You'll find the right workout, but you'll have to manually turn on tracking.
As we mentioned in our Mi Band 7 review, you don't get an option to interact with the notifications on the tracker itself. This issue isn't exclusive to the Mi Band 7 since a lot of other fitness bands and even smartwatches don't actively let you interact with the notifications. It's not necessarily a deal-breaker for something that costs as much as it does but keep that in mind. Some other noteworthy features of the Mi Band 7 includes a 180mAh battery and 5ATM resistance. You also get a reliable companion app that works with both Android phones and iPhones.
We suggest you read our Mi Band 7 review to learn more about this fitness tracker and get a good idea of what to expect from it before making a purchase decision.
Mi Smart Band 7
The Xiaomi Smart Band 7 is an affordable fitness tracker that does a good job of keeping track of steps, heart rate and sleep, with a large and vibrant screen too.
Best discreet fitness tracker: Oura Ring Gen 3
Even the smallest fitness bands on the market including the Mi Band 7 aren't as discreet as the Oura Ring. Unlike the vast majority of fitness trackers that are worn on the wrist, the Oura Ring, as the name suggests, is a ring. It lacks a screen, and it doesn't push notifications forward, meaning it's less distracting compared to traditional fitness bands. But don't let its small form factor fool you because the Oura Ring is a very capable device that can track a lot of metrics to keep you in your best shape. We're only adding this as a bonus option because it's not for everyone. Coming in at $299, the Oura Ring Gen 3 is one of the most expensive trackers on this list, and it also demands a paid membership to offer the best support. Yes, you get six months of free membership with your purchase, but it's $6.99 per month after that, which is a significant cost for most people.
The highlight of this product is its form factor and design. The Oura Ring Gen 3 comes in four different colors -- Silver, Black, Stealth, and Gold. The company will let you choose the right size for a comfortable fit before checking out. The Oura Ring Gen 3 is made out of lightweight titanium, meaning it's quite durable. It's also lighter than a conventional ring, so you don't have to worry about taking it off frequently. For those who are curious, the Oura Ring Gen 3 weighs 4 to 6 grams depending on the size of the ring, and it can be as thin as 2.55mm. Despite its relatively small form factor, the Oura Ring Gen 3 is said to last for up to 7 days on a single charge. It uses Bluetooth LE (Low-Energy) for its connectivity.
The Oura Ring also offers a long list of features to help you stay in your best shape. With its membership, you get access to things like guided meditations, educational content, and personalized insights into your well-being. You can also choose to ignore the membership, but without it, you'll only get access to the basic Oura Ring features like your Daily Readiness, Sleep, and Activity scores. Some premium features including the Relaxation time and Period Prediction are only available with the membership, but leave we'll it up to you to decide while making a purchase decision.
Oura Ring works on both Android phones and iPhones and the app experience remains mostly the same across the board. It can also automatically sync your workouts from your favorite fitness apps through Apple Health and Google Fit. All the features and specifications, aside, what makes Oura Ring tracker special is its form factor. There isn't any other tracker like Oura, so it's safe to say that the company is indeed dominating this space right now. The folks over at Oura are also constantly adding new features to the device, so it's only going to get better over time.
Oura Ring Gen 3
The Oura Ring Gen 3 is the most discreet fitness tracker you can buy right now. It's one of the most expensive trackers in this collection, but it also supports a long list of features for the price.
Smartwatch-style Fitness Trackers
Fitness trackers can also double up as smartwatches. There are a lot of these trackers on the market, but not all of them are worth considering. We've rounded up some of the best trackers in the category below:
Best smartwatch-style fitness tracker: Fitbit Versa 3
The Fitbit Versa 3 is our pick for the best smartwatch-style fitness tracker. While most people consider the Versa 3 as a smartwatch -- even Fitbit puts it in the category of a smartwatch -- we think it's better equipped to work as a fitness tracker. Unlike the "smartwatches" mentioned in this collection below, the Fitbit Versa 3 lacks dedicated app store support. Sure, you can install some apps but the selection is rather bleak compared to what you can get with, say, a Galaxy Watch 5. But if you prioritize fitness features over the app store, then the Versa 3 is a great option.
In terms of design, we think the Fitbit Versa 3 resembles the Apple Watch with its square watch face. Physically, it's a bit smaller than Fitbit's own Sense smartwatch, but it offers more screen real-estate compared to fitness trackers like the Mi Smart Band 7 and the Charge 5. The Versa 3 is available in four different finishes, all of which have a different color on the case and the strap. The watch case is made out of aluminum while the included band uses a "flexible material". The Versa 3 is water-resistant to 50 meters, meaning you can take a dip inside the pool while wearing it. Just like every other Fitbit tracker, the Versa 3 also works with both Android and iOS devices.
The Versa 3 is very similar to the Charge 5 in terms of features. What sets it apart from a tracker is its 1.58-inch AMOLED panel. It lets you see and interact with more information on the screen compared to a typical activity tracker. You can also see and interact with notifications, but the experience will probably be somewhat limiting compared to a full-fledged smartwatch like an Apple Watch. In terms of the sensors, the Fitbit Versa 3 gets continuous heart-rate monitoring and SpO2. This is in addition to the usual set of tracking metrics like step count, activity tracking, sleep tracking, and more. The Versa 3 also supports NFC for contactless payments, and it also has a built-in microphone that lets you take phone calls on the wrist.
The Fitbit Versa 3 also comes with built-in GPS and support for Alexa and Google Assistant. In the battery department, Fitbit says the Versa 3 can last about a week on a single charge. It's on par with what the company claims for the Charge 5 too. You can, however, get a day's worth of charge in just 12 minutes with the Versa 3. Overall, the Fitbit Versa 3 is a great option to consider if you're looking to buy a reliable fitness tracker which also doubles up as a smartwatch. The Fitbit Sense is equipped with more sensors to track more metrics, but we think the Versa 3 offers a good set of features for the price.
The Fitbit Versa 3 is available to purchase for just $170 at the time of writing this article, and we think is a solid price for everything it brings to the table.
Fitbit Versa 3
The Fitbit Versa 3 is very similar to the more expensive Fitbit Sense smartwatch, except this one brings all the essential features for a relatively affordable price.
Best budget fitness watch: Amazfit Bip S
If you don't want to spend a lot of money on an expensive fitness watch, then we recommend checking out the Amazfit Bip S. It's an excellent choice for those who want to save some moolah without compromising on some essential features. The Bip S, as you can see, has a square watch face which makes it look like a budget Apple Watch of sorts. It's available to purchase in either Carbon Black, Red Orange, Warm Pink, or White Rock colors, so you get a decent amount of options. It's made out of polycarbonate material while the included strap uses silicone. The Bip S only weighs 31g with the strap, so it's not too heavy on the wrist either.
The Amazfit Bip S sports a 1.28-inch color TFT panel on the front with a resolution of 176 x 176 pixels. It's covered with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 for protection, and the watch comes with a 5ATM waterproof rating. In terms of the sensors, we're looking at a BioTracker PPG Bio-tracking optical sensor. In addition to the usual set of health metrics, the Bip S also supports sleep tracking and continuous heart rate monitoring. It also has a built-in GPS, which makes it better than a lot of other fitness watches in this price range. One of the highlights of the Bip-S fitness watch is that it has a long-lasting battery. It's rated to last for up to 2 weeks on a single charge, which is quite good. It's on par with fitness trackers like the Mi Smart Band 7 in the battery department.
What's impressive about the Amazfit Bip-S is it's said to last for up to 40 days on a single charge with basic usage. According to the company, "basic usage" includes factory default dial, heart rate measurement every 30 minutes, sleep tracking, and up to 100 notifications per day lighting up the screen. You can also exercise once a week for up to 30 minutes with the GPS turned on to net around 40 days of usage on a single charge. If you were to use GPS all the time, then you'll end up looking for a charger before the end of the day.
The Amazfit Bip-S works with both Android phones and iPhones via the companion app called Zepp. The Amazfit Bip-S works more like a fitness band than a smartwatch, so keep that in mind. You do get notifications on the watch but there's very limited room when it comes to interacting with those notifications. You can, however, edit watch faces and control music, so there's still some degree of customization and functionality to it.
Put frankly, the Amazfit Bip-S isn't the best-looking fitness watch in this collection, but we think it offers good value for the price. It's available for just $42 at the time of writing this article, meaning it's cheaper than the Mi Smart Band 7 too. The Bip-S can also handle activity tracking, so it may be worth considering for those who're just starting their fitness journey.
Amazfit Bip S
The Amazfit Bip S is an affordable smartwatch-style fitness tracker that offers a good value for the price.
Best Smartwatches for Fitness
Fitness trackers aren't the only game in town. Smartwatches can also offer great features for fitness enthusiasts. There are many advantages to buying a smartwatch over a basic fitness tracker including better notification support, a dedicated app store, and more
Best smartwatch for Android users: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Samsung's new Galaxy Watch 5 is one of the best smartwatches out there for Android users. Just like Galaxy Watch 4, the new model also comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes and runs the latest version of Wear OS 3. It's the same operating system that's also running on Google's new Pixel Watch, meaning you get access to Google Maps' turn-by-turn navigation and Google Assistant. All the fitness and health tracking features are handled by the Samsung Health app, which is more reliable than a lot of options out there.
The Galaxy Watch 5 supports the best of Samsung's health features, including SpO2 measurements, auto-workout detection, sleep tracking, and an electrocardiogram. The watch will also show you all the notifications and let you interact with them without having to pull out your device. You can learn more about the experience of using this watch in our Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 also offers decent battery life, but don't expect to go for days on a single charge. You'll still have to charge it after a day and a half, which is on par with a lot of other smartwatches out there.
There's a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, especially for its $250 asking price. But it only works with Android phones, so keep that in mind. You can also consider buying the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro if you want a bigger watch with a rugged build. Alternatively, you can also save some money on your purchase by snagging last year's Galaxy Watch 4, which still holds up pretty well against the new models.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is one of the best Android smartwatches out there right now. It brings a lot of upgrades to the table compared to the older model, has excellent health tracking features, and offers good battery life too.
Best smartwatch for iPhone users: Apple Watch Series 8
It's tough to put together a list of the best fitness trackers without including an Apple Watch. There's no denying that the Apple Watch stands among the best when it comes to health and fitness tracking, so we wanted to highlight the best Apple Watch you can buy right now. The original version of this list included the Apple Watch Series 7, but we've now replaced it with the newer Series 8 model.
Apple Watch Series 8 isn't significantly different from the previous model, but it comes with a new skin temperature sensor that enables menstrual cycle tracking and allows you to get more accurate sleep data. These two features are crucial for a lot of users, which is why the new Apple Watch Series 8 has earned the top spot for iPhone users. Also, new to the Apple Watch Series 8 is the company's new crash detection feature. The crash detection feature may not be worth the upgrade just by itself if you already have one of the new iPhones, but it's certainly one of the highlight features of this year's Apple Watch lineup.
As far as fitness tracking is concerned, the Apple Watch Series 8 has a ton of different workout modes including running, cycling, walking, strength training, and more. You can also add new workouts in the Workouts app, and the Apple Watch Series 8 can automatically detect and track them for you when you're ready.
All things considered, the Apple Watch Series 8 is the default option for most users that comes with all bells and whistles like a skin temperature sensor, crash detection, and more. The added skin temperature sensor and the crash detection feature may not be enough to warrant an upgrade to the Series 8 from the last-gen watch, but it's definitely worth considering if you're coming from an older watch. Alternatively, you can also consider buying the Apple Watch Ultra, which is the company's new rugged smartwatch for athletes and advanced users.
Apple Watch Series 8
The Apple Watch Series 8 is the latest smartwatch from Apple. It's not a huge change from the Series 7, but it offers fresh features like crash detection, a new temperature sensor, and more.
Best rugged smartwatch for fitness: Garmin Instinct 2
The Garmin Instinct 2 is an excellent option for those who are looking to pick up a rugged smartwatch. The new Instinct 2 takes the best features of its predecessor and adds some meaningful upgrades to offer a better package overall. The Instinct 2 is available in 40mm and 45mm case options, so it's suitable for most users out there. You also get to choose between the standard or the Solar models, with the latter being able to gather energy from the sun with the help of Garmin's Power Glass. The Power Glass extends the battery life further, so you might want to pick that one if you want the best battery life. The Solar models are slightly more expensive, though, so keep that in mind.
While the original Instinct smartwatch was also available in a range of colors, the Instinct 2 brings brighter shades, including the poppy red and electric lime colorway. You can even get some dual-shade options with the Surf edition if that's something you like. Just like the original watch, the Instinct 2 also comes with a monochrome memory-in-pixel display with a circular watch face. There's also a small circular cutout within the main panel to show some contextual information as you're navigating through menus. The Instinct 2's display is a lot sharper compared to its predecessor. We're looking at 176 x 176 pixels compared to 128 x 128 pixels for the original watch. This should make a noticeable difference in day-to-day usage.
The Garmin Instinct 2 is great when it comes to activity tracking. It comes with an exhaustive list of health monitoring features including Garmin's Body Battery tool. This tool, in case you're wondering, tracks various metrics, including heart rate, sleep, and more to tell you how much energy you have left for the day ahead. The best thing about this score is that it's updated throughout the day, which means you can balance your activities to make sure you don't run out of juice before the end of the day. The Instinct 2, just like the other Garmin watches, offers accurate GPS support to track your outdoor activities better.
Notably, the Garmin Instinct 2 also comes with a multi-sports mode for events like triathlons, which means you don't have to stop and change the activity mode between each stage. The Instinct 2 smartwatch can also detect a range of activities by itself, which is always a great feature to have. This particular watch is better suited for runners, cyclists, and swimmers, but you should be able to track other workouts without any issues either. It comes with a 10ATM water rating which means you can use in rain or even take it underwater for a swim. Other noteworthy features of the watch include a microphone that lets you take phone calls or summon your phone's voice assistant from your wrist. The companion app also makes it easier for you to download additional watch faces and applications.
Despite offering a long list of features, the Garmin Instinct 2 is great when it comes to battery life. According to the company, the Instinct 2 smartwatch is said to last for up to 28 days on a single charge. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, especially if you use some battery-draining features such as SpO2 and GPS. But even without those features enabled, Instinct 2 should be able to keep up for more than two weeks on a single charge, which is quite impressive. The Solar model will definitely last longer between charges, so keep that in mind. Overall, the Garmin Instinct 2 is a great option to consider if you're in the market for a reliable, rugged smartwatch for fitness.
Garmin Instinct 2
The Garmin Instinct 2 takes all the best features from the original Instinct smartwatch and adds some finishing touches to make it better.
As you can see, there's a lot of variety to choose from, but this list should help you narrow down your options. If you're leaning towards buying a simple activity tracker then the Fitbit Charge 5 and the Mi Smart Band 7 are great options to consider. The Fitbit Versa 3 and Amazfit Bip-S are great for those who want fitness trackers that also double up as a simple smartwatch. But if you want more exhaustive features including full app store support, then you'll have to rely on the smartwatches mentioned in this list.
This is an ever-evolving list that we'll update over time to add newer and better options. But in the meantime, let us know your favorite fitness tracker by leaving a comment down below.
